Javaughn Douglas rising above adversities

DESPITE PHYSICAL challenges, Javaughn Douglas has been a high achiever for all his life. He has not allowed his spastic cerebral palsy diagnosis to deter his dreams and aspirations, and with his very supportive network of family and friends, he continues to excel beyond boundaries.

“I grew up in Portmore, St Catherine, with my mother and our extended family. Growing up, I was a bit sheltered and protected by my family, due specifically to the fact that I was born premature. It was hard, but not impossible to manoeuvre certain things due to my disability,” Douglas said.

Douglas attended the Glowell Preparatory School in Cedar Grove, where he indicated that the principal’s strict approach helped to shape his sense of discipline and punctuality.

Initially he faced challenges, including being bullied because of his disability. However, by the fourth grade the bullying subsided, as he developed the ability to defend himself.

Moving on to Wolmer’s Boys’ School, Douglas found a supportive community that fostered a strong sense of brotherhood. “With the help of both my peers and the staff, I was able to thrive due to accommodations made on my behalf, like a pass that allowed me to skip lines. My time at Wolmer’s also provided valuable leadership opportunities, as I served as a peer tutor and vice president of the Environmental Club,” he said.

Douglas, who was born prematurely, was diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy from birth. While it does cause slight stiffness in his arms, it mostly affects his legs.

“Due to my disability, I walk with a noticeable limp, and walking or standing for extended periods causes intense pain. As such, when needing to leave my home, I tend to travel by vehicle. It also meant that while I attended The University of the West Indies, for example, I used a motorised chair to traverse the campus,” Douglas said.

“I have adapted to the disability mostly through mental resilience, as well as through the help of my friends and family over the years,” he added.

Douglas recently earned a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology with a minor in psychology, graduating with lower second class honours from The University of the West Indies. “I have a passion for technology and I have been teaching myself web development for a few years. Ultimately, my goal is to pursue a career as a neurosurgeon,” Douglas said.

Prior to attending The University of the West Indies, Douglas was accepted to study medicine in Cuba. However, that was in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, he decided he would remain in Jamaica.

“I figured that it would be good to have a first degree that would be helpful, but overall unrelated to my medical career. I decided to attend UWI as a biochemistry major and ended up transitioning to biotech after one of the interviewers for my scholarship mentioned in jest that I could use that knowledge to help people like me. I researched the degree and found the practical aspects more interesting than biochemistry,” Douglas said.

Douglas was consistently the top student for his six years at his prep school. He was a recipient of the John Wolmer and Principal’s Award at Wolmer’s; and was also the winner of the May 2022 DIA Urban Pitchtank for his business idea, SE-A-WAY. SE-A-WAY is an app that seeks to aid in the diagnosis of children with potential learning disabilities and special needs from data collected from certified medical professionals.

In 2022, he was the top performer of the Data Literacy programme offered by the Caribbean School of Data, and in 2023, the top male performer of their Level II analytics programme.

“I would like to be a doctor, mostly, so that I can help people in much of the same way that I was helped early on when I had to attend physiotherapy sessions at the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre. Seeing so many people, many of whom had more troubling issues than me, made me want to work hard to achieve my goals,” he said.

keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com